Report It
Report It

  • FAQ

    Last updated: February 20th, 2024

    I have missed the EU Settlement Scheme deadline, am I too late to apply for settled or pre-settled status?

    This answer presumes that you are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (see this FAQ for more information). 

    Although the deadline of June 30 2021 has passed, late applications can still be made if the Home Office accepts that you have reasonable grounds to do so. You will not have rights in the UK until you receive a Certificate of Application. See a summary of rights affected at: https://www.the3million.org.uk/rights-table. 

    The EU Settlement Scheme has made provision for late applications to be made by EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family who can show they have reasonable grounds for missing the deadline.

    IMPORTANT: From August 2023, the Home Office will first decide whether they accept the reasonable grounds provided for a late application before treating it as a valid application.

    This has several important consequences:

    • You won’t get a Certificate of Application (CoA) until after the Home Office accepts that you have reasonable grounds for a late application.
    • If the Home Office finds that the grounds for a late application are not reasonable, they will reject rather than refuse the application. This means you won’t have the right to submit an appeal.

    For this reason, we recommend you get help with your application, to make sure your grounds for applying late are as well represented as possible. There are some useful links to organisations that can help (for free) here: https://www.the3million.org.uk/useful-links.

    If you do wish to submit your own late application, we recommend that you:

    • Draft a covering letter explaining fully your reasons for applying late.
    • Upload the covering letter as evidence, alongside any other documents that can support your reasons for applying late such as medical documents etc. 
    • In the application form itself, where you are asked for the reason for applying late (and are only given a limited number of characters to do so) , write something like  “see covering letter for details of the late application explanation”. 
    • Don’t try to also summarise the reasons in the application form, as there may then be a risk that the Home Office will only read the information in the form, and not look at the detailed attached evidence.

     

    Please note, that family members not currently in the UK wishing to join their EU family members in the UK can do so following the Family Permit Route or by directly applying to the EU Settlement Scheme as a joining family member. The June 30 2021 deadline does not apply to these applications, though they should apply within 90 days of their arrival in the UK if they enter the UK with an EUSS Family Permit. For more information see  https://www.gov.uk/family-permit and our FAQ on Family Reunion

    Some examples of reasonable grounds and more information on how to apply and provide evidence of your reasonable grounds can be found in the EU Settlement Scheme: caseworker guidance (open the document “EU Settlement Scheme: EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members”), under the section “Reasonable grounds for delay in making an application”

Back to all Frequently Asked Questions